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Sunday, March 13, 2011

I remember watching my grandpa use a sharpening steel to hone knives when I was a kid. He could do it really fast and it was amazing to watch. He came from a family of butchers so he knew the value of a well maintained, sharp knife.

Cooking is something my husband and I enjoy doing together, so, from time to time, we watch cooking shows to get some new ideas and techniques. Professional chefs have some impressive knife skills, but many of them do something that surprises me. They use the sharpened edge of their knives to scrape food from the cutting board.

If you look at a typical chef's knife, you'll notice that the blade is curved on the cutting side and flat on the top. There are a number of reasons knives are made that way, but one of them is to make scraping food off of your cutting board more efficient and save the blade of your knife. Using the sharpened edge of your knife to scrape your board can dull the blade and, potentially, nick it.

Some professional chefs don't seem to know that, but, if you didn't before, now you do. Next time you chop an onion or slice an apple, don't forget to flip your knife over and use the straight side to scrape your food into the pan. Your knives will stay sharp longer.

I thought of you and your knife skills a few days ago! I was watching "Barefoot Contessa" and she was cutting apples (if my memory serves) with a paring knife...and DRAWING THE KNIFE TOWARD HER THUMB...just as you described in a recent post!!! So...if even fancy-pants Ina can do it...

HEY! I work with those TV chefs and I didn't know that! Thanks for a great tip.

Love that you come from a family of butchers, my best friend's husband is opening a meat market in Great Barrington this year and I'm helping them with the decor, opens up a whole new world of propping.

good tip or edge?Regarding edges I wish my wife would not put the sharp knife in the soapy water without a warning sign. OuchSo is this your second knife related post or did a miss one?Anyway you slice it - good post.

I watch a lot on the Food Network and the Cooking channel and I'm always surprised at some of the bad habits professional chefs have. I remember one chef, who owns a bunch of swank Beverly Hills restaurants, had a show and he was constantly putting his fingers in the food then sticking them in his mouth to taste things- Over and over again. I don't eat in his restaurants anymore :-)